Instruction
by divescustos
Summary: Focused intently on his mind, I caught the move he planned to make the split second before he began to move. It was simple enough to feint to my left, dodging out of the way. He turned back towards me, skidding against the dirt to turn his momentum. A low snarl left his lips, and I answered with a growl of my own. Chapter 18 of Eclipse EPOV.


A prompt on my rp blog asked for the training scene in Eclipse from Edward's point of view. It was originally meant to be just a drabble, but I don't know control and so now we have this. It's not the entirety of chapter 18, but it's pretty close. Enjoy!

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"That had to be the longest party in the history of the world," Bella complained on the way home.

I almost laughed. Her aversion to attention of any kind, no matter the venue or guests, was rather amusing. Still, I understood her dislike. It had been strange for me too, having so many humans in the one place no member of my family usually had to pretend. And the smells would linger for weeks.

"It's over now," I soothed her, rubbing her arm. Under my palm, I could feel her tense muscles, and I wished I could see into her mind to get an idea as to what was really bothering her.

We had all tried to comfort her before she left our house. I had watched as my family surrounded her, did their best to put her mind at rest. Jasper had sent out so much peaceful energy, I was worried Bella might keel over, fast asleep. Emmett's jokes were off the mark, as usual, given Bella's feelings about the wolves. She would likely be unhappy about them fighting. Honestly, she treated them like children. They were young, but strong, and perfectly capable of killing our kind. It was practically what they were made to do. I had smiled at Esme's gentle action of kissing Bella's forehead and promising her all would be fine. The confidence from all of them was catching, and even I felt relieved. There was an end in sight to all of this.

I was pulled back to the present by Bella's voice, quiet and faint.

"You're taking me with you tonight."

My first instinct was to deny her. Being around us fighting, even just practicing, made my chest tighten in fear. But I knew that was silly, that we would be in control. So I tried for a different tactic.

"Bella, you're worn out," I said, already able to see the heaviness in her eyes, the weight of her limbs. It had been a long day, with the ceremony and the party, and she needed to get some rest.

"You think I could sleep?" she challenged.

I frowned. I could see how she might be kept up, but there was another reason I wanted her to stay home.

"This is an experiment. I'm not sure it will be possible for us all to… cooperate. I don't want you in the middle of that."

It would be just Bella's luck to be trapped between two waring factions who both wanted to protect her. The wolves were hard to predict at the best of times, and the idea of her being caught up a fight that may break out made me want to sit out myself, just to keep her company.

"If you won't take me, then I'll call Jacob."

I winced slightly at that. Of course the wolf would give her what she wanted. He never seemed to care much about what was best for her, versus what he wanted. If I didn't take her, he would be at her front door in a snap, ready and willing to do so instead.

We arrived at her home then, and I didn't have the chance to reply before she had already gotten out of the car and started up towards the front door. "See you upstairs," I heard her mutter, and my lips quirked up a touch.

Despite the murkiness of Charlie's thoughts, I could tell he was asleep. There was a different quality altogether to a mind when asleep, and it made me wish I could be privy to Bella's dreams. They were soft around the edges, often colourful and strange. It was always fascinating. There was also the snoring, which I had heard about a half mile up the road.

I made my way up the side of the house, easily sliding open her bedroom window and slipping inside. I heard Bella rousing her father downstairs and smiled. Sitting myself in the rocking chair, I waited for Bella to return.

There were footsteps across the hall as she coaxed Charlie into bed, and then the sound of running water. I was quite used to waiting for her to complete her 'human time' as she had come to call it, and I looked around, as if anything would have changed since I was last here. Then again, something may have, I told myself. The visit from the intruder had frightened me, and I had starting checking that nothing was disturbed that shouldn't be. I would have picked up the scent if that were the case, but it didn't hurt to calm my anxious mind.

When Bella returned in jeans and a flannel shirt, clearly ready to go back out, I gave her an unhappy look. I said nothing, though, not wanting to fight with her.

"Come here," she said after she had hung up the outfit she had worn that day, and took my hand. I stood, as if she had truly pulled me from the chair, and let her push me down onto the bed. She curled up against me, and I wrapped my arms around her without even thinking. While I was not pleased she was coming tonight, I still felt an underlying relief that things would work out. They would be easily dealt with.

Tucking her quilt around her, I could feel how stiff and tense she still was and I wanted to sigh.

"Please relax," I told her softly, smiling gently.

"Sure," she replied. A lie, no doubt.

"This is going to work, Bella," I said, confidence radiating from my voice. "I can feel it."

However, despite my belief, she obviously wasn't buying it. Her muscles were hard beneath my hands and her jaw was tight when I looked down at her face.

"Listen to me, Bella. This is going to be _easy_. The newborns will be completely taken by surprise. They'll have no more idea that werewolves even exist than you did. I've seen how they act in a group, the way Jasper remembers. I truly believe that the wolves' hunting techniques will work flawlessly against them. And with them divided and confused, there won't be enough for the rest of us to do. Someone may have to sit out."

The final words were delivered in a lighthearted, teasing tone, hoping to truly put her worries to rest. But when she spoke again, I knew I had failed.

"Piece of cake," she mumbled against my chest, words devoid of emotion. With little else to do, I resorted to comforting her.

"Shh," I murmured, stroking her cheek. "You'll see. Don't worry now."

I began to hum the lullaby I had written for her, the tune as familiar to me as my own family's faces. It had worked so many times to calm her in the time I had known her, that I hoped it could do it again now. But I never heard her breathing even out, or her body relax into sleep. As the time drew nearer to our meeting with the pack, I wished she had at least gotten a small break from all her worries.

Sitting us both up together, I looked at her in concern.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay and sleep?" I asked, already knowing her answer.

The face she pulled at me told me I was right.

With a sigh, I stood with her in my arms, leaving her quilt on the bed. It was simple enough to jump out of the window with her in my arms, my feet making only soft thuds when I landed. We had gotten into a good routine for when I ran with her, and she locked her grip around my waist and neck once she was on my back.

And then I ran.

Running was almost always one of my favourite of my abilities. The air rushing past my face, tugging at my clothes, was exhilarating, and the smile on my face was genuine as I raced us towards the field we had been using for our baseball games. We hadn't been out there since last March, when the nomads had interrupted our game. But it was a good a spot as any — far from town and with plenty of space for what we needed.

Our journey brought back the happiness I felt at having a solution available to us. Perhaps if I allowed myself to feel confident and relaxed, it would seep over to Bella. And maybe her seeing this training would help too — see how we were built for this, how we had the best instructor imaginable in Jasper. If there was anyone who could us through this, it was him.

I heard my family's minds before I caught their conversation. All were in high spirits, Emmett especially, who was looking forward to yet another chance to spar with me and Jasper. He was wondering if the wolves would join in. Highly doubtful, given their distrust of us, if not downright impossible. I caught a few of the more crass comments he was making, and rolled my eyes before bringing us to a stop at the edge of the field.

I helped Bella down from my back before taking up her hand in mine to begin walking over to them. I heard a few mental greetings sent my way and smiled. It was always freeing, in a way, to have Bella see us as we really were and still accept us. Despite the circumstances, I was glad of that much.

"You know what I think?" Bella asked suddenly.

I couldn't hold back a laugh at that.

"No," I said truthfully, a gleam of humour in my eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think it's _all_ connected," she said. "Not just the two, but all three."

My brows furrowed. What was she talking about?

"You've lost me."

"Three bad things have happened since you came back," she replied, lifting her hand to tick them off. "The newborns in Seattle. The stranger in my room. And — first of all — Victoria came to look for me."

My eyes narrowed as I considered this. They were all unlikely events at the best of times, and to have happened so close together was unusual. But that didn't necessarily mean they were connected somehow.

"Why do you think so?" I asked, curious about her reasoning.

"Because I agree with Jasper," she said simply. "The Volturi love their rules. They would probably do a better job anyway. Remember when you were tracking Victoria last year?"

"Yes," I said with a frown, all the images of my failed trip returning to me. "I wasn't very good at it."

"Alice said you were in Texas. Did you follow her there?"

"Yes. Hmm…" I was beginning to see where she was coming from. Or where she was going with this point, at least.

"See — she could have gotten the idea there. But she doesn't know what she's doing, so the newborns are all out of control."

I could see her point there, but when how was she evading Alice? I shook my head.

"Only Aro knows exactly how Alice's visions work," I said, my main reason for suspecting the Volturi were involved in this.

Bella was prepared for that though. "Aro would know _best_ , but wouldn't Tanya and Irina and the rest of your friends in Denali know _enough_? Laurent lived with them for so long. And if he was still friendly enough with Victoria to be doing favours for her, why wouldn't he also tell her everything he knew?"

I frowned. I didn't like the idea of this all being an orchestrated plot by one person, a person we had been trying to keep tabs on for months now.

"It wasn't Victoria in your room," I pointed out.

"She can't make new friends?" Bella pressed. "Think about it, Edward. If it _is_ Victoria doing this in Seattle, she's _made_ a lot of new friends. She's created them."

I considered that for a moment. Some of the oldest attacks were just over a year ago — one of our kind may have enough control by that point to go and leave a human still alive.

"Hmm," I said at last. "It's possible. I still think the Volturi are most likely… But your theory — there's something there. Victoria's personality. Your theory suits her personality perfectly. She's shown a remarkable gift for self-preservation from the start — maybe it's a talent of hers. In any case, this plot would put her in no danger at all from us, if she sits safely behind and lets the newborns wreak their havoc here. And maybe little danger from the Volturi, either. Perhaps she's counting on us to win, in the end, though certainly not without heavy casualties of our own. But no survivors from her little army to bear witness against her." My mind began to quickly turn through the options now, facts falling into place. "In fact, if there were survivors, I'd bet she'd be planning to destroy them herself… Hmm."

We had stopped in place, and the others sent over the occasional questioning stare.

"Still," I continued, drawing upon my earlier thought, "she'd have to have at least one friend who was a bit more mature. No fresh-made newborn left your father alive…"

If it was Victoria, then that made things much simpler, and yet infinitely more difficult at the same time. Simpler in that our enemy was one entity, easily dealt with at once. We wouldn't be stretched thin wondering about her after the fight with the newborns, should all go to plan. It made things difficult, however, because if our theory about the Volturi was wrong, if they weren't involved, then it put us back to square one on what their plan was. But maybe that was a good thing, that they were seemingly planning nothing at all, leaving us be to change Bella — as Alice had promised them — in our own time.

I pulled myself from my thoughts and gave Bella a smile.

"Definitely possible," I told her. "Regardless, we've got to be prepared for anything until we know for sure." I appraised her for a moment, before adding, "You're very perceptive today. It's impressive."

She let out a sigh, less happy than I thought she'd be. "Maybe I'm just reacting to this place. It makes me feel like she's close by… like she sees me now."

My jaw tensed as I thought of that. She was nowhere nearby, even just my gift alone could tell me that, but even so, the idea was abhorrent.

"She'll never touch you, Bella," I vowed.

Even with my certainty, I scanned the trees that surrounded the clearing. A sense of longing filled my chest, and I bared my teeth at the ideas in my mind.

"Yet, what I wouldn't give to have her that close. Victoria, and anyone else who's ever thought of hurting you. To have the chance to end this myself. To finish it with my own hands this time."

I felt her shudder beside me, and her fingers tighten around mine. Her ridiculous way of feel protective of me, of worrying when such a thing wasn't necessary, really was absurd.

We had started walking again, and were almost to the rest of them now. I caught the unhappy thoughts of my sister — both physically and mentally pouting. The wolves were nearing, and that meant her visions were disappearing quickly. Jasper was stretching his arms nearby, as if he needed to. I rolled my eyes at the show, probably done just to try and cheer Alice up.

"Is something wrong with Alice?" Bella whispered to me, continuing her perceptive streak.

I chuckled. "The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind."

Alice heard me easily and turned to glare at me. With an insult in her mind, she stuck her tongue out at me, and I just laughed again.

"Hey, Edward," Emmett said, approaching us. "Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?"

I groaned at the very thought. "Please, Emmett, don't give her any ideas."

 _Sorry, kid_ , he said, not even his mental 'voice' sounding sorry in the slightest.

 _Edward_.

The sound of my father's thoughts caught my attention, and I turned to look at him.

"When will our guests arrive?" he asked aloud, for the benefit of everyone else. We had gotten so good at our mental conversations, however one-sided, that it often annoyed them.

I closed my eyes and listened for a moment, finally picking up on foreign voices all contained together and talking. The pack. I grimaced as I realised something.

I sighed. "A minute and a half. But I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to use their human forms."

Carlisle only nodded, forever understanding. "This is hard for them. I'm glad their coming at all."

I could practically feel Bella's eyes on me.

"They're coming as wolves?" she asked, her voice holding just a touch of fear.

I only nodded, cautious of how she's react. As far as I knew, she had not seen the werewolves in their animal forms too many times before, and they could be intimidating even to my kind, never mind a human.

As I watched for a reaction from her, I listened to the wolves mentally converse as they drew nearer. Some were questioning the idea of coming here at all, some were curious to see what we would do and show them. There was one irritatingly familiar one keen to see Bella. But as I listened to all of this, I noticed something strange. Bella had told me there were six members of the pack, and Jacob had offered no contrary information. But I could distinctly hear more than _ten_ voices.

"Prepare yourselves," I warned the others, looking to the tree-line. "They've been holding out on us."

"What do you mean?" Alice demanded, and I just shushed her, staring past her to see over ten pairs of glowing eyes.

The others widened out the loose circle they had been in to form a line, Emmett and Jasper at the point. Unconsciously, I lent towards them, knowing my place was by their side, yet also knowing it was next to Bella. She tightened her grip on me, obviously noticing my movement.

" _Damn_ ," Emmett muttered, having — like the rest of them — counted just how many wolves there were. When he spoke again, he sounded impressed. "Did you ever see anything like it?"

I saw my mother and Rosalie exchange a glance with each other, both of their minds worried in identical ways. We were outnumbered, and it was making all of us jumpy.

"What is it?" Bella asked, her voice quiet for a human but echoing out across the field for us. "I can't see."

"The pack has grown," I murmured to her, tilting my head towards her.

As she finally got her chance to see them, to count them, I listened in further on their mental chatter. Many of them were anxious about this, did not like seeing us here in such a position. It was like they had no choice but to remain, like there was something forcing them to be here. Their heads kept turning towards the black wolf, the largest of them all. Sam Uley, the alpha. Their conversation was not really that, more like listening to each others thoughts, as I could, but then projecting out their own as well. There was nothing they could hide from each other in this form.

"Fascinating," I breathed, unable to help myself. It was like nothing else I'd ever heard before.

I was pulled from my observations by Carlisle taking a deliberately slow and safe step forward. He didn't want to spook them. "Welcome."

Already having found my way into their mind, it was easy to allow their words to flow through me. I heard the strongest voice, Sam Uley's voice, and let mine speak it aloud for all to hear.

"Thank you."

I could hear myself echoed back in the minds of the wolves, and found the strange flat tone Sam had taken odd coming from my mouth.

"We will watch and listen, but no more," I continued for him. "This is the most we can ask of our self-control."

There was some mild complaint from the other minds of the pack, wanting their chance to fight, but little more than that.

"That is more than enough," Carlisle continued, his mind cautiously hopeful. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

A ripple of uncertainty echoed through the wolves. Many had assumed little at all would change between fighting mature vampires and newly made. The idea that they might have to change from what their instincts told them caused them fear.

"They are different from you?" I said for Sam, his thought a little more demanding than my tone suggested.

Carlisle only nodded. "They are all very new — only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you — it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."

As our father spoke, Jasper was concentrated partially on watching over the wolves, and partially on the hundreds of battles in his past. The wars that had scarred his skin, given him his skills. Although I would never be happy that my brother had lived through such pain and suffering, I was glad of his expertise now.

The wolves vocalised some of the excitement they felt at having their chance at a newborn each. The noise was terrifying, making me want to grab Bella and run, but their thoughts were innocent enough. It wasn't _us_ they were planning on tearing to shreds.

Yet.

"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," I said, giving voice to Sam's now much less indifferent thoughts.

Despite his hatred of the act of killing, Carlisle was relieved to have the wolves on board. He had always disliked the animosity between us.

He smiled. "We'll see how it plays out."

While the rest of the pack thought through getting to actually fight, at least three of them were thinking practicalities. One was Sam, the other was Jacob, and the third I didn't know.

"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?" I asked for Sam, echoing the thought he had for Carlisle.

"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path." Alice grumbled about being blinded by the wolves in her mind.

"Thank you for the information. We will watch."

The final words held a command I could not convey in my own voice. It seemed to reverberate through the minds of the wolves across from us, and one by one, they lay down on the ground. We all remained still for a moment after that, watching to make sure they really were just going to watch us. Even with the treaty in place, there was no friendship between us.

 _Here goes nothing_.

Jasper finally stepped out into the space between our two groups, his eyes meeting mind. _Is it safe?_ he asked, and I nodded. The images he had conjured in his mind of the wolves tearing our family apart were, for now, unfounded. That didn't stop him from looking uncomfortable as he turned his back to our natural enemy, and he let out a sigh.

"Carlisle's right," he began, addressing us and doing his best to forget that the horse sized beasts were there at all. "They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill." The reasons for such rules flashed in his mind. "That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?"

The explanations were over for now, and we were on to practical demonstrations now. My largest brother stepped out of our informal line, a huge grin on his face, and excitement practically radiating off him. It brought a small smile to my own face to see him so in his element.

Jasper backed up, making use of the space between us, and he waved Emmett over to him.

"Okay, Emmett first. He's the best example of a newborn attack."

Emmett's eyes narrowed and I bit back a laugh at the affronted thoughts in his mind.

"I'll _try_ not to break anything," he muttered. _Like your arm_.

Jasper was unconcerned and he grinned in response. "What I meant was that Emmett relies on his strength. He's very straightforward about the attack. The newborns won't be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett."

Taking a few more paces backwards, Jasper tensed, ready for the fight.

"Okay, Emmett — try to catch me."

My brothers and I had wrestled and sparred too many times to count in the past six decades we had spent together. We knew each other well, how we each worked, what we used to our advantage. Even so, it was fascinating to see Jasper truly use his skills, the same ones he had used in the Southern Wars.

Emmett had charged at Jasper, and the latter had deftly stepped out of the way. The instinctive snarl that had left my bigger brother's mouth had been softened somewhat by the huge grin on his face. Our play fights were how we showed love and affection for each other, and this felt incredibly similar, no matter that it would lead to the skills necessary to kill.

I lent forward as I watched them progress, taking in every movement and thought the pair shared. They were likely moving too quickly for Bella to see, but my eyes had no such trouble. Emmett kept trying to get his hands around Jasper, and Jasper kept just leaping out of Emmett's grasp. Until I heard a change in Jasper's thoughts as he vaulted over Emmett, landing easily on his back and hovering with his teeth an inch from Emmett's throat.

I nearly laughed at the curse word that left my brother's lips, as well as the smug thoughts from Jasper as he climbed down. Esme gave Emmett a disapproving look — she didn't like us cussing around the girls.

The wolves were appreciative of the little show Jasper had provided. They had never seen a vampire trained in fighting before, and they wondered at what else he could do.

"Again," Emmett demanded, serious now. He wanted his payback, as he always did.

"It's my turn," I protested, wanting my chance in the fun, and felt Bella tighten her hold on my fingers.

"In a minute," Jasper said, shooting me a grin. _I have an idea_. "I want to show Bella something first."

He waved Alice forward, and her thoughts immediately brightened from the moping she had been doing. It was always interesting to watch the pair spar, if ever they did. More dancelike than anything else the rest of us could do.

A quick glance at Bella's face confirmed her worry about this. Maybe seeing this session would be good for her after all — she could finally see what we were truly capable of. Could finally see that we were able to take care of ourselves. That we were ready for this.

"I know you worry about her," Jasper continued, his thoughts full of love and affection as Alice joined him. "I want to show you why that's not necessary."

Jasper sank down gracefully into a crouch, his thoughts playful. He had made sure Alice was able to protect herself personally, so he held little worry about her against himself. What he'd be like in the real thing though, I dreaded to imagine.

Alice smiled, closed her eyes, and _saw_.

It was always strange to be in my sister's head as she searched through the future. When a vision hit her, it was much like listening to any other thought for me. Often I caught it as well, but if I wasn't concentrating then it was harder. But when she made the decision to force her gift to show her the future, it was like several branches lay before her. Each was as equally possible as the other. Forks on a road that would eventually be picked. As Jasper made his plan, one road became solid, while the others faded away.

Taking a step forward, Jasper shot past her.

They continued on this way for some time, him narrowly missing her as she stepped out of his way. A true dance between the pair of them, so in sync with each other. They moved faster and faster, curling around each other, dodging and twirling, until Alice launched herself off the ground so Jasper would be underneath her. Landing lithely on his back, she grinned against his neck.

"Gotcha," she said smugly, kissing his throat.

Jasper chuckled. "You truly are one frightening little monster."

Both of their thoughts were full of fondness now, and they held hands briefly once Alice was off his back. In the background, the wolves rumbled in apprehension. They hadn't liked seeing the one with the most experience defeated so easily by another.

"It's good for them to learn some respect," I murmured, deeply amused. If they hadn't guessed Alice would win against Jasper, then they knew very little of us. Then again, that could be highly likely.

"My turn," I announced, giving Bella's hand a squeeze of reassurance before letting it go.

Alice had plans to keep her company, and I watched my sister skip over to her side. My thoughts were more concentrated on Jasper.

 _Let's see you use your gift for more than spying_ , Jasper teased, and I let out a quiet, good-hearted groan.

Jasper's plans were to try not to fall back on his decades of experience for me. Like with Alice, however, that would not stop my gift from working, nor my speed. Both were skills I planned to utilise to the fullest extent.

Once we were across from each other, we both dropped into a crouch. Focused intently on his mind, I caught the move he planned to make the split second before he began to move. It was simple enough to feint to my left, dodging out of the way. He turned back towards me, skidding against the dirt to turn his momentum. A low snarl left his lips, and I answered with a growl of my own as he jumped at me again, giving me the chance to duck low, try to get a grip of his arm as he passed. He managed to move out of my grasp though, and my brow furrowed as I concentrated harder on his mind.

We continued on in much the same way we always did — he decided the move he would make, I heard it, and escaped. But my skills were nothing to his, and whenever I would try to go after him in return, he would manage to get away. I didn't even notice how long we had been at it until I heard Carlisle clear his throat.

 _Enough playtime, boys_ , he thought, amused.

Jasper laughed, he too finally noticing that we'd taken quite some time. I straightened out of my crouch and grinned at him.

"Back to work," Jasper agreed. "We'll call it a draw."

Everyone was to take turns. Carlisle went next, his years assisting him even if he hadn't had the experience Jasper did. Rosalie took her turn after him, making her moves against our brother look like ballet rather than fighting. Emmett had sat on edge, unhappy to see his wife in such a situation. Esme went next, and none of us enjoyed that. I felt Bella cringe against me to see my gentle mother fighting. It was almost wrong to see one so peaceful and unable to hurt anyone be trained to fight. We all knew she could though, and we couldn't doubt her ability. It just wasn't pleasant. Emmett finally insisted he go again now the rest of us had gotten our turn.

While he fought the rest of them, Jasper had occasionally slowed down to show us better what he was doing. He would ask if we had seen, if we understood. He gave encouragement when we did right, and reminded us of those two rules he had given us at the start. I kept my eyes on every match, listening both verbal instructions and every thought flying through my brother's mind. Every piece of information that may help keep Bella safe I stored away, ready to use when the day finally arrived.

Eventually, I felt Bella lean more heavily into my side, and I looked down at her. Her eyelids were drooping, and I smiled softly at her.

"We're about finished," I murmured, having caught Jasper's intention to end the session for the night once Emmett was finished.

He turned towards the wolves, finally letting himself think of them again, feel edgy and uncomfortable.

"We'll be doing this tomorrow," he informed them. "Please feel welcome to observe again."

The wolves immediately began to direct questions to their leader, wanting to come back and soak up more information. Sam had had little intention of not doing so anyway, and I translated once more.

"Yes. We'll be here."

Sam then had another idea, and — while I thought it was a good idea, I wasn't comfortable with it — I sighed. I patted Bella's arm lightly to let her know I was stepping away and addressed my family.

"The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents — so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them."

Several minds erupted into thought at once. Rosalie hated the idea of having the wolves so close, and Jasper was annoyed as well. The less the wolves knew about us, the better, to him. Esme was uncertain, but willing to try, and Emmett was determined. Alice seemed unconcerned, despite her lack of sight. I wasn't particularly keen, but I could see it was a good idea.

"Certainly," Carlisle said. "Whatever you need."

The noise from the wolves as they rose was unnecessary. My lips were a thin line as they each got up, and Sam began to lead them forward. However, no matter my opinion of the matter, I was more concerned about Bella.

The wolves were terrifying even to my kind — what could they be like for a human? Ever since the start of our relationship, I had known that her reaction to dangerous things was off. But as I watched her, she seemed to truly take in the monstrousness of the beasts approaching us. It was almost a relief to finally have a normal reaction from her.

Sam started with Carlisle, taking a sniff and almost whining at the scent. Through their minds, I could almost feel the sting in my own nostrils. It was nothing like the pleasant smell I normally associated with my father. As they moved on to Jasper, I kept my eyes trained on Bella, as she scanned the pack.


End file.
